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Stars look for first winning streak as they host Blackhawks

Nov 20, 2008 - 11:27 AM Chicago (8-4-5) at Dallas (6-8-3), 8:30 p.m. EST

DALLAS (Ticker) -- The Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks have a little in common. Both recently snapped three-game winless streaks with victories over the Phoenix Coyotes - by identical scores of 3-2, no less.

More than a month into the season, the Western Conference foes have found their fortunes moving in opposite directions. The Stars will try to get on track on Thursday as they host the Blackhawks, looking for their first winning streak of the season.

For Dallas, its early struggles are unexpected. The Stars advanced to the Western Conference finals last season but have failed to garner any momentum as the end of the season's second month draws closer. They sit in the basement of the Pacific Division - and in fact, are just one point away from the worst record in the league.

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, haven't made the playoffs since the 2001-02 campaign but are currently in second place through 17 games. One of the league's highest-scoring teams with 58 goals, Chicago saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on November 12 and suffered through a rough week before Tuesday's triumph over the Coyotes.

The Blackhawks hosted the Stars three weeks ago and came away with a 5-2 victory, scoring three unanswered goals over the last period-and-a-half to get the job done against Dallas' backup goaltender, Tobias Stephan.

Not that the team's starter, Marty Turco, would necessarily have made a difference. The 33-year-old All-Star has posted just a 3.58 goals against average and a subpar 5-7-3 record.

However, he's had his way with the Blackhawks throughout his career. In 17 career starts, he has a 14-2-1 mark with a 1.78 GAA and three shutouts.